The Magneto Actor Doctor Strange 2's Elizabeth Olsen Would Want As Wanda's Father

Following the introduction (and very swift exit) of the Illuminati after they were killed by the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Sam Raimi's directorial debut in the MCU has opened up various doors for other areas of the beloved comic book franchise, one of which is the eagerly anticipated arrival of the X-Men. This arrived in the form of Patrick Stewart, who blessed us with his iconic presence by reprising his role as Charles Xavier — albeit, a different variant of Xavier than he played in the past — thereby giving us our first taste of mutantkind in an official MCU movie. 

Needless to say, it was awesome. Of course, Xavier isn't the only iconic, mutant-powered individual fans hope to make an appearance somewhere down the line. Besides Xavier's tough team of X-Men, there is also his best friend-turned-foe Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto. And while Magneto is best known for being the most important X-Men villain of all-time, the comics have (usually) also depicted him as the father of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Aaron-Taylor Johnson). 

In the MCU, thus far, this parentage is not the case. Currently, Wanda's father was only briefly seen in a flashback of "WandaVision," and given his fate, he clearly wasn't the sort to bend metal with his mind or wear a fancy metal helmet. If the MCU were to retcon Magneto into Wanda's origins, though, here is the past version of the Master of Magnetism that Elizabeth Olsen would prefer to work with.

In a recent interview with Geek Culture for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Olsen was asked which actor she'd like to see take on the role of the Master of Magnetism in the MCU, and she settled on the original choice that debuted in the 2000 "X-Men" film. "I'm going to go with Sir Ian McKellen," she said, after giving it a few moments of thought.

That said, Olsen was quick to admit that her reasoning might have less to do with her or McKellen's characters, and more just her own adoration for McKellen as an actor. "I have the biggest crush on him," she said. "He's in these videos called 'Playing Shakespeare,' it's a video series. He's like the sexiest man in the world."

Given how developed Wanda's MCU backstory has become at this point — and with the choice to emphasize her sorcery abilities instead of mutant powers, firmly putting her over in the magic corner of the MCU — it's probably too late to retcon Magneto into her backstory. Besides, Wanda's future is both mysterious and complex: The last time we saw her, she was burying herself within the rubble of Mount Wundagore to atone for her villainous actions. That said, a character as powerful — and immensely popular — as the Scarlet Witch is unlikely to be taken out so easily, when she has so many possible future storylines ahead. If and when she comes back, we can only hope they find a reason to have her somehow get involved with the X-Men.